MONTREAL – Luka Rocco Magnotta abandoned the appeal of his first-degree murder conviction in the slaying of Jun Lin Wednesday, setting the stage for an eventual meeting between the killer and his devastated father.

Wearing a light T-shirt, Magnotta appeared before a Quebec Court of Appeal judge by video conference from jail.

Quebec Court of Appeal Judge Genevieve Marcotte asked Magnotta if he was abandoning his appeal voluntarily.

Magnotta replied he’d made up his mind and didn’t need more time.

“I had the opportunity to reflect — yes,” Magnotta told the judge during a brief hearing.

The withdrawal of the appeal now opens up the possibility of a face-to-face meeting between Lin’s father, Diran Lin, and Magnotta.

A lawyer representing Lin’s family said they were relieved Magnotta had abandoned the appeal.

Discussions were taking place even as the appeal process was triggered, but now that it’s over, a discussion could take place, hopefully in person, Leclair said.

“The father wants to meet him and it’s more in the spirit of truth and reconciliation to the extent that something can be shared, and (to) answer the father’s questions,” Leclair said.

Magnotta’s lawyer had filed two appeals in January, seeking a new trial for his client. Since that time, Magnotta considered what a new trial would entail, recognizing that the Crown’s evidence was strong.

“It was his decision,” Leclair said.

Magnotta, 32, was found guilty of first-degree murder last December in the May 2012 slaying and dismemberment of Lin.

He was also given the maximum possible sentences on the four other charges: criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

Magnotta admitted to killing and dismembering Lin but had been seeking to be found not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.

The Crown had countered the crime was planned and deliberate and that Magnotta’s behaviour and actions were incompatible with those of someone supposedly suffering from a disease of the mind.

The jury deliberated for eight days before returning five guilty verdicts.

Prosecutor Louis Bouthillier said Wednesday Magnotta’s decision to abandon the appeal marks a formal end to the case.

“It’s the end of the process, the appeal process is now terminated,” he said.

The veteran prosecutor was asked if he was surprised that Magnotta withdrew his appeal.

OTTAWA — The big-ticket military mission to fetch fugitive Luka Rocco Magnotta from Germany in 2012 was ordered by a senior Conservative cabinet minister who considered it a matter of “national interest,” The Canadian Press has learned.

In June 2012, the Air Force made a $376,128 decision to dispatch one of its largest aircraft to collect the accused killer in Berlin, where local police had collared him to end an intercontinental manhunt that made global headlines.

The low-budget porn actor and stripper fled to Europe after the brutal Montreal killing and dismemberment of 33-year-old university student Jun Lin.

Magnotta was given a life sentence in December after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, among other charges. The 32-year-old is appealing the verdict and wants a new trial.

After Magnotta’s conviction, National Defence released more than 1,700 pages of emails documenting the cost of repatriation, the debate over options and the scramble to whisk him home after he agreed to extradition, lest he change his mind.

The messages, obtained under the Access to Information Act, also offer a rare look behind the curtain at the government’s efforts to keep details of the “sensitive” mission out of the public spotlight.

The decision to involve the Royal Canadian Air Force — and ultimately one of its CC-150 Polaris Airbus jets — was discussed at the upper levels of the country’s political and military ranks, the emails show.

Peter MacKay, defence minister at the time, ordered then-general Walt Natynczyk to lend a hand “as soon as possible” after Montreal police asked for federal help.

“We will support this request as an assistance to law enforcement,” MacKay wrote to Natynczyk on June 16, 2012, in a partially redacted email.

“I (am) satisfied that this support is in the national interest and that this matter cannot be dealt with effectively without the assistance of the Canadian Forces.”

He cited a section of the National Defence Act, which allows the defence minister to call on the military to help police in certain situations.

After exploring their options, the military chose to bring Magnotta home on an Airbus, which can hold up to 194 people when configured for passengers. At the time, it cost an estimated $15,505 per hour to operate.

Taxpayers paid $376,128 for the National Defence portion of the trip, and the department footed the bill, a spokeswoman said.

The documents explain that prisoner transfers like Magnotta’s are usually made with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police aircraft, specialized air transport companies or commercial airlines.

But the Mounties’ jet was unavailable due to “mechanical reasons,” the emails show. Commercial and charter options were deemed no-gos because some companies didn’t meet security requirements. And commercial airlines refused to transport the notorious accused killer.

“How can we bring him back to Montreal on a commercial flight with other people sitting on board?” Montreal police Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere said the day Magnotta landed at Mirabel airport, north of Montreal.

“For very extraordinary cases, we do have to take some extraordinary measures.”

The Airbus was one of three options under consideration. The others were a nine-passenger, CC-144 Challenger executive jet and a massive CC-177 Globemaster III transport plane, used to haul helicopters, tanks and troops.

Government estimates from 2012 have shown the Challenger cost between $5,400 and $13,700 per hour to operate, while the Globemaster carried a $23,279-per-hour price tag.

Officials had reservations about the Challenger option because it would have had to refuel in Iceland along the way, potentially causing customs issues. They were also uneasy about the optics of Magnotta flying in the lap of luxury.

“It will be billed as luxury jet travel for a murder (sic),” one email said.”So we may need to consider other options.”

Officials felt crunched for time because Magnotta had declined to fight extradition, the emails show, so they chose the long-range Airbus — an option that avoided a pit stop between Berlin and Montreal.

“It is not a life and limb thing but still a requirement to not delay more (than) necessary,” said one email. “That is one of the RCMP requirements.”

The Airbus in question, which was equipped with mid-air refuelling capabilities, had to be pulled from an international live-fly exercise taking place in Cold Lake, Alta.

Other CC-150s in the military’s fleet have been configured to accommodate the prime minister, the Governor General and members of the Royal Family.

The federal government also made efforts to keep news outlets in the dark about the Magnotta mission for as long as possible, the emails reveal.

One lieutenant-colonel’s message described it as a “sensitive op.”

“There is a very high desire on the part of the agencies and partners involved to maintain confidentiality of this activity through a strict need to know approach,” read another.

In one exchange, a defence official was praised by one of his superiors for staying on top of the public relations “firefight” by releasing only limited information to an inquiring journalist.

The documents show the Privy Council Office, the bureaucratic wing of the Prime Minister’s Office, had ordered National Defence to avoid speaking to the media about the mission and to refer all questions to the Justice Department.

Magnotta was convicted in December 2014, when he was also found guilty of criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament.

Magnotta mailed some of Lin’s body parts to different Canadian cities, including to the offices of the federal Conservatives and Liberals in Ottawa.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/ottawa-spent-376k-to-repatriate-luka-magnotta-docs-show/feed/0Luka Rocco Magnotta wants new trial in Jun Lin killinghttp://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/luka-rocco-magnotta-wants-new-trial-in-jun-lin-killing/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/luka-rocco-magnotta-wants-new-trial-in-jun-lin-killing/#commentsMon, 19 Jan 2015 22:10:49 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www.macleans.ca/?p=667481Magnotta's appeal centres primarily on a number of instances in which the defence suggests the judge erred in the case

MONTREAL – Luka Rocco Magnotta is appealing his conviction in the first-degree murder of Jun Lin and wants a new trial.

Documents made public by the Quebec Court of Appeal on Monday outline several reasons for Magnotta’s attempt to have the five convictions annulled, including the one for killing Lin.

The appeal centres primarily on a number of instances in which the defence suggests the judge erred in the case.

After a lengthy trial, jurors deliberated for eight days before finding Magnotta guilty on Dec. 23 of premeditated murder and four other charges in Lin’s slaying in May 2012.

The first-degree murder conviction carried a sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Magnotta, 32, was also given the maximum sentences on the four other charges.

The documents filed by Toronto-based lawyer Luc Leclair state Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer erred in a number of instances.

“The verdicts are unreasonable and unsupported by the evidence and the instructions,” one of two motions filed by Leclair read.

One motion is a direct appeal of the convictions based on questions of law and could take many months to be heard.

In the second, Magnotta is seeking leave to appeal on questions of “mixed fact and law” which will require the authorization of the province’s highest court to go forward.

The appeal documents were dated last Thursday and include a notice that a hearing will take place in Montreal on Feb. 18.

Leclair denied to comment further when reached by telephone.

Magnotta admitted to killing and dismembering Lin but was seeking to be found not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.

Psychiatrists who testified for the defence said he was in a psychotic state the night of the killing and couldn’t tell right from wrong.

The Crown countered the crime was planned and deliberate and that Magnotta’s behaviour and actions were incompatible with those of someone supposedly suffering from a disease of the mind.

The jury heard testimony about the gruesome details of Lin’s death and that many of Magnotta’s actions were caught on surveillance video or in images taken by the accused himself.

They also heard about Magnotta’s upbringing and delved into medical files that showed he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2001.

In the roughly 48 hours following the slaying, Magnotta cut up Lin’s body into 10 pieces, mailing the hands and feet to political offices in Ottawa and primary schools in Vancouver. He also bought a plane ticket for Paris online.

When police put out a warrant for his arrest, Magnotta emptied his bank accounts and fled to Berlin on the same day.

He was ultimately arrested in an Internet cafe in the German city on June 4, 2012, where a witness said Magnotta was reading up on himself.

He was eventually transferred to a Berlin prison hospital, where a psychiatrist’s initial diagnosis was that he was psychotic.

The other charges Magnotta was convicted of were criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/luka-rocco-magnotta-wants-new-trial-in-jun-lin-killing/feed/0Father of Jun Lin grateful for Montrealers’ generosityhttp://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/father-of-jun-lin-grateful-for-montrealers-generosity/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/father-of-jun-lin-grateful-for-montrealers-generosity/#commentsMon, 29 Dec 2014 19:42:02 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www.macleans.ca/?p=657773'To me, most of Canada is good, even though this happened to me'

MONTREAL – The father of murdered Chinese student Jun Lin says he has been able to feel the compassion and kindness of Montrealers, despite not speaking English or French.

Diran Lin said people have recognized him on the street, with some coming up to embrace him.

“Some warm-hearted people just hugged me and wanted to comfort me,” Lin said Monday, six days after a jury found his son’s killer, Luka Rocco Magnotta, guilty of first-degree murder.

“While we can’t communicate by language, we can communicate by heart,” he said through an interpreter. “I understood what they were trying to say.”

During the several months he has lived in Montreal while attending Magnotta’s trial, Lin received cheques and notes of support from people, with some of the communication already translated into Mandarin.

Lin said he will travel back home to China in January, but promised to return to Montreal despite his son’s murder and dismemberment in the city in 2012.

“I will come back,” he said. “To me, most of Canada is good, even though this happened to me.”

The emotional strain and anguish that Lin has suffered since 2012 was apparent on his face.

His eyes looked tired and and he spoke slowly and softly, during the hour-long question-and-answer period in his lawyer’s office.

Lin began to cry and shake after he said his hair had turned white since his son’s death.

He said he quit his job back home in order to attend the entire trial, which began in late September. Lin had also attended the preliminary hearing in 2013.

He expressed satisfaction with the guilty verdict, even though he found the trial long and the Canadian justice system slow.

“Generally speaking, the Canadian legal system is good,” he added.

Lin said he was relieved that Magnotta was found guilty and received a life sentence. However, the Lin family did not get full closure because they still don’t know why their son was murdered.

He called Magnotta a “beast” and said he wanted to know why the killer took his son away.

Daniel Urbas, the lawyer who helped the Lin family navigate Canada’s legal system, said his client also wants Magnotta to apologize.

“The father came here to honour his son, to find out why (he was murdered), and to seek justice,” Urbas said.

“He has had justice —Canadian justice — but he would like a true version and a complete version (for why his son was killed). And from the mouth of the accused, an apology.”

Urbas said his office has so far collected $15,000 in donations for the Lin family, but he would like Canadians to donate more through the website his firm created, linjunfamily.com.

“This (fund) is going to be taking care of the family for the rest of their lives,” Urbas said. “The money is to replace — literally — the support Jun Lin could have done had he been alive.”

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/father-of-jun-lin-grateful-for-montrealers-generosity/feed/0Jun Lin’s father: ‘I leave satisfied that you have not let my son down’http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/jun-lins-father-i-leave-satisfied-that-you-have-not-let-my-son-down/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/jun-lins-father-i-leave-satisfied-that-you-have-not-let-my-son-down/#commentsTue, 23 Dec 2014 19:05:11 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www.macleans.ca/?p=656665The impact statement from Diran Lin, in the wake of a ruling that found Luka Rocco Magnotta guilty of murdering his son, Jun Lin

Diran Lin, father of Jun Lin, walks the halls of the courthouse during the fourth day of jury deliberations at the murder trial for Luka Rocco Magnotta Friday, December 19, 2014 in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

MONTREAL – Luka Rocco Magnotta was found guilty on Tuesday of first-degree murder and other charges in the killing and dismemberment of Jun Lin in May 2012. After the verdicts came down, lawyer Daniel Urbas read out in court the following impact statement on behalf of Lin’s father, Diran Lin:

I do not know who I am supposed to be talking to, who will listen to this or read this but I do need to say something. For me, for Lin Jun’s mother, for Lin Jun’s sister.

The night Lin Jun died, parts of many other people died in one way or another. His mother, his sister and me, his friends, Lin Feng. In one night, we lost a lifetime of hope, our futures, parts of our past.

I have trouble thinking of other things, to concentrate. Lin Jun’s mother is not right anymore, has not smiled or laughed much since May 2012 and will never work again. Lin Jun’s sister has tried to take care of her mother but she too is unable to work, is sad. She has too much responsibilities now for someone so young. I hope one day she is better.

My memories of Lin Jun do not stop at his youth but now I see those memories through his death, how he died, how he must have suffered, how humiliating his death has become with a movie, post office packages, and only the accused’s story that it was not his fault and the fault of government agents.

I know that the accused is not what Canada is about. Lin Jun loved China but was also drawn to Canada, to live in Montreal, in French. I have spent now more time in Canada and now know why my son wanted to live here.

This knowledge hurts all the more to know what my son is missing by not being alive in your country. I am troubled by knowing what his plans were, to stay here and to start a business, to live here permanently, to enjoy your language, your opportunities, your fresh air.

I live each day with regret that all I now see available here will never be his, that his name will only be associated with a horrible, degrading crime. It causes me fresh pain to know that my son’s legacy is to be remembered as a victim. He not only suffered in his murder but will be humiliated for each time his name is mentioned and it hurts me deeply and will hurt me forever. It hurts me to know that my last words to him were “be careful son.” I feel bad that I was not there to warn him that night.

I will never see his smiling face on video chat or hear about his new accomplishments or hear his laugh. Lin Jun’s birthday is on December 30 and he will never be there for his birthday or ours.

(The Canadian Press/ Handout: Lin Family)

In traditional Chinese culture, your child grows up to take care of you when you get old. A Chinese parent has a saying, “Having a Child Takes Care of Old Age” or “Raising a Child Prevents Loneliness in Old Age.”

He will not be there for me and Lin Jun’s mother in our old age. I turned 60 years old at the start of the trial and so did Lin Jun’s mother a few days later. We have only misery as a gift and feel pain for his little sister Mei Mei.

I thought I would be able to retire and enjoy my son being there for me, with me, to let me feel I have been a good father. His chair is empty at my home. His phone never answers. All gone. I have no ability or desire to want anything else.

I am told that the accused will receive the maximum under Canadian judicial system for one of his crimes. I appreciate the result.

I am told that a prisoner in Canada is given time to reflect on his crime, to live with the bad memories, to perhaps feel regret, to be cut off from family, to be limited in their movements. In that understanding, I think that his future sounds like mine, Lin Jun’s mother’s and Lin Jun’s sister. We are cut off from our son, and given the rest of our lives to think. We reflect on that crime, we feel regret, we have no desire to go anywhere or see people.

I am also told that for the next years, a prisoner will be housed, his bed provided, his food prepared, doctors made available and psychiatrists to listen to him and give him medication when he tells them that he feels bad.

No one will house us, feed us or provide doctors. Lin Jun will never be there for us. We do not want to tell our story because it is too sad to repeat. We cannot talk much about Lin Jun without talking about his murder. The murder has robbed us not only of Lin Jun but our ability to think and talk about him without feeling pain and shame.

I had come to see your trial system to see justice done and I leave satisfied that you have not let my son down.

I had come to learn what happened to my son that night and I leave without a true or a complete answer.

I had come to see remorse, to hear some form of apology, and I leave without anything.

MONTREAL – Luka Rocco Magnotta remained impassive as one of the 12 jurors who deliberated his fate uttered the word “guilty” to all five charges against him in the slaying and dismemberment of Jun Lin, including first-degree murder.

“It’s always a great feeling for a Crown prosecutor to hear the word ‘guilty’ come out of the mouth of a juror at the end of a trial,” prosecutor Louis Bouthillier told reporters.

“Obviously very rewarding.”

Bouthillier said he was fully expecting the jury to deliver the five guilty verdicts.

“We’re not really surprised,” he said. “I thought we had good evidence of premeditation and the fact that the crime was planned and deliberate.”

The prosecutor lauded the work of the jurors, who began hearing the case in late September and delivered the verdicts on their eighth day of deliberations.

“There was close to 11 weeks of testimony. Obviously they had to work with difficult, very difficult legal issues. I want to salute the work of the jury. Individually, the 12 jurors were really magnificent and they did an outstanding job.”

After the verdicts, a lawyer read out an impact statement on behalf of Lin’s father, Diran Lin, who watched proceedings throughout the trial from a private room in the courthouse.

“I had come to see your trial system to see justice done and I leave satisfied that you have not let my son down,” Daniel Urbas told the emotionally charged room.

“I had come to learn what happened to my son that night and I leave without a true or a complete answer.

“I had come to see remorse, to hear some form of apology, and I leave without anything.”

Earlier, the trial judge also had words of praise for the jurors.

“While it may not always be obvious to everyone, a jury trial is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country,” Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer told them as he quoted Sir Winston Churchill.

“We have asked a lot of you but you rose to the occasion and indeed proved that real and substantive justice is a reality in action.

“Your patience, seriousness and hard work has been obvious to us all and exemplary in a very demanding trial.”

The other charges Magnotta was convicted of were criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

Magnotta, 32, was seeking to be found not criminally responsible of the May 2012 slaying by way of mental disorder, with experts testifying he was in a psychotic state the night of the killing and couldn’t tell right from wrong.

The Crown countered the crime was both planned and deliberate and that Magnotta’s behaviour and actions went against someone supposedly suffering from a disease of the mind.

As Magnotta had admitted to the physical acts, the jury’s task was to determine his state of mind and whether his acts were intentional, planned and deliberate.

The criminal case captured headlines worldwide in 2012 when the little-known porn actor and escort with an enormous Internet footprint became a household name after being linked to a horrific crime posted online.

His trial finally made it before a bilingual jury in Montreal, dominating much of the latter part of 2014.

On the murder charge, the jury had four options: find Magnotta guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter, or find him not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.

The judge told the jurors in his instructions that if they deemed Magnotta not criminally responsible, that verdict should carry through to all five charges.

Bouthillier said the steps Magnotta took to hide his tracks and flee authorities were not consistent with someone who was in a debilitating mental state who didn’t understand his own actions.

That Magnotta would admit to the acts was only disclosed to the court just before the trial began. From the outset, the jury heard the accused admitted to the killing and dismembering but that he was suffering a disease of the mind at the time.

Through 10 weeks of testimony, the jury heard details of Lin’s death and that many of Magnotta’s actions were caught on surveillance video or in images taken by the accused himself.

They also heard about Magnotta’s upbringing and delved into medical files that showed he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2001.

Roughly half of the 40 days of testimony were dedicated to forensic psychiatrists who presented duelling versions of whether Magnotta was of sound mind during the crimes.

The key piece of evidence for the Crown was an email that described Magnotta’s macabre plan was actually telegraphed some six months before Lin’s slaying.

A British reporter, Alex West, confronted Magnotta in London in December 2011 about cat killing videos that had created a stir online. The accused denied being the author before saying in an email to West two days later that cats were just the beginning and that his next movie would include a human subject.

“Next time you hear from me it will be in a movie I am producing, that will have some humans in it, not just pussys. :),” Magnotta wrote near the end of the email, sent Dec. 10, 2011.

“You see, killing is different then smoking .. with smoking you can actually quit,” he wrote, one of the many references in the trial to the movie “Basic Instinct.”

Later in that message, he added: “Once you kill, and taste blood, its impossible to stop. The urge is just too strong not to continue.”

It concluded: “Getting away with all this, now thats genius.”

The Crown said the plan was set in motion in mid-May with the filming of a mystery Colombian man, asleep and naked on Magnotta’s bed while he straddled him with an electric saw in his hand.

Fifty-three seconds of that footage found its way into the “One Lunatic, One Ice Pick” video that shows Lin’s dismemberment.

The mystery man, drowsy but unharmed, left Magnotta’s apartment the next day with the help of the accused.

According to Magnotta, he met Lin through a Craigslist advertisement seeking a partner for bondage.

Lin arrived at Magnotta’s apartment at 10:16 p.m. on May 24, 2012, never to emerge again.

Four hours later, at 2:06 a.m., Magnotta was seen exiting the building wearing a distinctive yellow T-shirt Lin had been wearing when he walked in.

The evidence suggested that Lin had been drugged and had his throat slit. The murder itself was not caught on “One Lunatic, One Ice Pick.”

Magnotta’s face wasn’t visible in the 10-minute video in which Lin’s throat had already been slit.

The video showed Magnotta methodically dismembering the body — allowing a small dog to chew on the remains and violating the body with a wine bottle. The corpse was stabbed repeatedly and Lin’s skull was smashed in with a hammer.

The sleep drug Temazepam and Benadryl, an over-the-counter allergy medication were later found in Lin’s system.

The jury also saw the outtakes, found on a camera. In the final scene, Magnotta’s face was clearly visible as he attempted to masturbate to Lin’s severed arm.

In the roughly 48 hours following the slaying, Magnotta cut up Lin’s body into 10 pieces, mailing the hands and feet to political offices in Ottawa and primary schools in Vancouver. He also bought a plane ticket for Paris online.

He visited a garbage room in the basement of his apartment 16 times as he emptied the contents of his apartment. He often found time to check his appearance in the lobby as he came and went.

He returned at one point with a suitcase used to dispose of Lin’s torso. He slashed, spray-painted and locked the suitcase before leaving it on the curb.

The discovery of the suitcase set in motion the biggest Montreal police investigation in the force’s history and a manhunt for the accused.

By then, Magnotta had fled to Paris, switching hotels upon his arrival. When police put out a warrant for his arrest, Magnotta emptied his bank accounts and fled to Berlin on the same day.

He spent his last few days of freedom partying and drinking with a German man, having told him he was seeking a new start in life. He was ultimately arrested in an Internet cafe on June 4, 2012, where a witness said Magnotta was reading up on himself.

Magnotta was eventually transferred to a Berlin prison hospital, where a psychiatrist’s initial diagnosis was that he was psychotic.

The body parts were recovered in the trash outside Magnotta’s apartment and the four locations they were mailed. Lin’s skull was found in a west-end Montreal park on July 1, 2012 after a Toronto lawyer mailed directions to the body.

Packages to Ottawa contained notes referencing Harper and his wife Laureen. Three of the four packages mailed by Magnotta were linked to convicted schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka — the packages used the names of Homolka’s mother-in-law and sister as return addresses. The fourth packaged mentioned Jean Chretien’s son, Hubert, as the sender.

Magnotta did not testify during the trial and did not agree to be assessed by the Crown’s psychiatrist.

His version of events, given to defence psychiatrists, was never independently proven before the jury. He gave contradictory versions of the night’s events to the two psychiatrists who assessed him on behalf of the defence.

Magnotta told the psychiatrists he became convinced that Lin was a government agent sent to kill him and that voices in his head told him to commit the murder.

The jury heard Magnotta’s voice once, through a surreptitiously recorded interview by West. Otherwise, he kept his head low for most of the trial.

Defence lawyer Luc Leclair told the jury to dismiss the experts and to put themselves in the mind of someone suffering from schizophrenia. He told them to consult Magnotta’s voluminous medical records, which included a schizophrenia diagnosis dating back to 2001.

Crown experts countered that Magnotta’s schizophrenia diagnosis was erroneous and that he actually suffers from a variety of personality disorders, which are not mental illness.’

Bouthillier urged the jury to consider that Magnotta was “malingering,” a term used to describe the faking of symptoms.

He said the evidence clearly showed someone who was “purposeful, mindful, ultra-organized and ultimately responsible for his actions.”

Lin, 33, was born in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. He had only been living in Canada since 2011, realizing a long-standing dream by coming to Montreal. Magnotta arrived in Montreal just months earlier in 2011.

The Crown suggested Lin was the perfect victim: he had few ties to Montreal and no immediate family in the country. At the time of his death, Lin was enrolled as an engineering student at Concordia University and worked as a part-time convenience store clerk in south-central Montreal.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/luka-rocco-magnotta-guilty-of-first-degree-murder/feed/0Jurors in Magnotta trial back at work for Day 8 of deliberationshttp://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/jurors-in-magnotta-trial-back-at-work-for-day-8-of-deliberations/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/jurors-in-magnotta-trial-back-at-work-for-day-8-of-deliberations/#commentsTue, 23 Dec 2014 15:52:03 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www.macleans.ca/?p=656509Eight women and four men have contacted the court only twice since deliberations began

MONTREAL – Jurors deliberating the fate of Luka Rocco Magnotta have begun their second full week behind closed doors.

The eight women and four men are into Day 8 and have contacted the court only twice over that time — once to ask a legal question and once to get technical help.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder and four other offences in the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin in May 2012.

He’s pleaded not guilty by way of mental disorder in hopes of being found not criminally responsible.

Magnotta’s lawyer claims his client is schizophrenic and couldn’t tell right from wrong at the time of the slaying, while prosecutors argue Lin’s death was planned and deliberate.

In addition to murder, Magnotta is charged with criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

MONTREAL – The fate of Luka Rocco Magnotta is now in the hands of the jury after the judge spent Monday telling them what they need to consider in their deliberations.

Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to five charges, including first-degree murder, stemming from the May 2012 slaying and dismemberment of Jun Lin, 33.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer’s detailed final charge also opened the door to a conviction on second-degree murder or manslaughter on the murder charge.

But if the jury finds Magnotta not criminally responsible, Cournoyer said the verdict must apply to all five charges. It’s also the issue he suggested jurors tackle first when deliberations begin Tuesday.

In addition to premeditated murder, Magnotta is charged with criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

Psychiatrists for the defence testified throughout the trial Magnotta is schizophrenic, was psychotic the night of the slaying and was unable to tell right from wrong.

Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier countered there was no mental illness at play and that the crime was planned and deliberate. He has said Magnotta should be found guilty of first-degree murder and the four other charges.

Cournoyer told the jurors they would need to answer two questions for the mental disorder defence to be accepted. Firstly, is it more likely than not Magnotta was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the offence? And secondly, did the disorder make him incapable of knowing the acts were wrong?

He walked them through the various expert reports, medical documents and testimony they could consider. However, if the answer to either of those questions is no, then Magnotta is not exempt from criminal responsibility, Cournoyer said.

If the jury opts for a verdict of not criminally responsible, Cournoyer told them Magnotta would not be set free if he’s considered a significant threat to public safety.

“Paranoid schizophrenia is a disease of the mind but it is for you to decide whether Mr. Magnotta was suffering form paranoid schizophrenia at the time of killing,” he said.

“Under our law, the verdict of not criminally responsible by reasons of mental disorder is not a loose term, quite the contrary. There are specific criteria to determine whether the defence of mental disorder is applicable.”

The jury will be required to render a unanimous verdict on each count.

Magnotta has already admitted to the physical acts of the case, meaning the jury will need to determine intent as well as the level of the planning in the slaying.

Cournoyer told them they must rely solely on the evidence they have heard over 40 days since the trial began in late September.

Magnotta did not testify and didn’t meet with a Crown psychiatrist, but the judge said he was not obliged to do so as part of his mental disorder defence.

“You must not infer Mr. Magnotta’s guilt from his failure to testify …. you cannot use his silence at trial as evidence of his guilt,” the judge advised.

Among the evidence to consider, Cournoyer said the jury will have to keep in mind that Magnotta’s statements given to defence psychiatrists about facts surrounding the events in May 2012 and his own state of mind have not been independently proven.

The Crown must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, but a mental disorder defence puts the onus on Magnotta and lawyer Luc Leclair to prove the accused has such a disorder and that he did not know what he was doing was wrong.

“Mr. Magnotta must prove that it is more likely than not that he suffered from a mental disorder to such an extent at the time the offences were committed that he is not criminally responsible,” Cournoyer told the jury. “This is a lower standard than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

He said they must not be influenced by public opinion and must assess the evidence impartially and without “sympathy, prejudice or fear.”

Fourteen jurors heard the evidence but two male jurors were sent home once the judge’s instructions were complete. One of them had a trip and was excused while the other was chosen at random.

An artist’s impression of Luka Magnotta is shown at the Montreal Courthouse. (Mike McLaughlin/CP)

MONTREAL — The defence has formally rested its case in the first-degree murder trial of Luka Rocco Magnotta without the accused taking the stand.

Attorney Luc Leclair presented a dozen witnesses over roughly two weeks, with the final one being the lead investigator in the case, Michel Bourque.

While Magnotta did not testify, his lawyer called several other witnesses, including his father and two forensic psychiatrists who assessed him for criminal responsibility.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying and dismemberment of Jun Lin in May 2012 in Montreal,

He has admitted to killing the Chinese engineering student, but has pleaded not guilty by way of mental disorder.

Magnotta faces four other charges: criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

Anita Sarkeesian

The months-long conflict over sexism within the gaming industry—now dubbed #GamerGate—was thrust into public view when Sarkeesian was forced to cancel a speech at Utah State University after the school received an email warning of a shooting massacre and refused to ban concealed firearms. The Canadian-born feminist, known for her work drawing attention to sexism in gaming, has been a constant target of violent threats—which also shed light on the attitudes she seeks to expose and redress.

Elizabeth Emanuel

The designer behind the ivory taffeta confection Diana Spencer wore at her 1981 “fairy tale” wedding to Prince Charles has taken to crowdsourcing to reboot her failed fashion career. Emanuel became an overnight sensation after the nuptials, but like the royal marriage, her business was doomed; she couldn’t keep up momentum and lost the right to use her own name in the 1990s. Now the 61-year-old is asking the public to help her finesse a happily-ever-after ending. Her target is $1.4 million; to date, less than $55,000 has been raised.

Charlie Crist

The former Florida governor has made a political weapon of the small, electric fan. For years, he’s used the devices to cool himself while speaking publicly in the muggy air of his home state. And for some reason, it gets under his opponents’ hides. Last week, incumbent Gov. Rick Scott refused to start a televised debate when he saw a fan set up at the foot of Crist’s lectern, saying it gave the Democrat an unfair advantage. Scott had to climb down in the end, but not before Crist had the stage to himself for four minutes. “Is there something wrong with being comfortable?” he asked, smiling.

Karla Homolka

Logan Valentini, formerly Lori Homolka, Karla’s sister, was dragged into another lurid murder case—this time by alleged Montreal killer Luka Rocco Magnotta. Magnotta, who is on trial for murdering and dismembering Jun Lin two years ago, is also accused of mailing a package containing some of Lin’s remains to a school in Vancouver, postmarked with Valentini’s address. Valentini testified that she had no knowledge of the package or its contents. She also revealed that her sister, who was last seen raising a family in the Caribbean, is now back in Canada, living in Quebec.

Hunter Biden

Earlier this year, in the thick of the Ukraine crisis, Hunter Biden, son of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, upset American officials when he joined the board of a private Ukrainian gas company. (At the time, the Obama administration was trying to deter Ukraine from using Russian energy.) This week Biden is in trouble again: the 44-year-old former lobbyist was discharged from the Navy after he tested positive for cocaine. Sources say Biden failed a drug test last year. The Vice President’s Office has yet to comment on the incident.

MONTREAL – Relatives of a former prime minister and a notorious killer testified at Luka Rocco Magnotta’s murder trial Friday after their names and return addresses were listed on packages sent by the accused.

Neither Hubert Chretien nor Logan Valentini knew Magnotta but they were called to testify because the packages he sent to Vancouver schools in May 2012 contained body parts of his victim, Jun Lin.

Valentini, whose sister Karla Homolka was sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter in a high-profile murder case in the 1990s, told jurors she didn’t mail any such box to False Creek Elementary.

Valentini, who changed her name from Lori Homolka in 1996, said via video link from Kitchener, Ont., she was blown away when police called her in 2012.

They wouldn’t give her specifics but she used the Internet to figure out the case in question.

“I was kind of stunned, I didn’t know why I would be dragged into something again that had nothing to do with me,” she told the court.

The jury heard that Karla Homolka is living in Quebec with her spouse. Valentini said she’d seen her sister recently.

She said it is common knowledge she is Homolka’s sibling.

“Everybody knows,” she said. “It’s been in the media that I’ve changed my name and what I changed it to.

“I didn’t want to change my identity, I just didn’t want to be associated with something and get a bad rep for something I didn’t do or have knowledge of. I just wanted to be able to live my life, quietly and free.”

Earlier, one of Jean Chretien’s sons told a similar tale related to his name and address being listed on another Magnotta-mailed package sent to a second Vancouver school.

Hubert Chretien said he doesn’t know Magnotta and never mailed the package, which misspelled his first name as “Hurbert.”

Chretien, who runs a non-profit organization, said his family links are well established and his biographical information is easily found on the Internet.

“My father is a lot better known than I am,” he testified from the courthouse in Gatineau, Que. “But by extension, I’m well known, yes.”

Chretien said he received a call about two years ago from a police homicide detective.

“It wasn’t really pleasant that my name was used,” he said.

“I was pretty surprised. It was something that was strange. I didn’t understand.”

Magnotta, 32, is charged with first-degree murder in Lin’s slaying and dismemberment.

He has admitted the physical acts he’s accused of but has pleaded not guilty by way of mental disorder.

He faces four other charges: criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

An artist’s impression of Luka Magnotta is shown at the Montreal Courthouse. (Mike McLaughlin/CP)

MONTREAL – The Montreal building where Luka Rocco Magnotta lived in a $490-a-month bachelor apartment was equipped with surveillance cameras.

The jury at Magnotta’s first-degree murder trial has heard audio testimony from a now-deceased witness who rented him the apartment.

Eric Schorer testified at Magnotta’s preliminary inquiry in 2013 but has since died.

Schorer said the building had four cameras — three with various views of the ground floor and entrance and one in the basement. They were activated by motion detectors and Schorer testified he never showed Magnotta their existence.

Schorer said there was nothing remarkable about his first meeting with Magnotta, about two months before the slaying of Chinese student Jun Lin. He testified Magnotta told him he was looking for a job as a caregiver and that he had a child in the area.

The 32-year-old Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder in Lin’s slaying and dismemberment in May 2012 in the apartment Schorer rented him.

In his testimony, Schorer said the janitor of the building reported seeing a suitcase outside that was smelly and covered in maggots amid a mound of trash.

The janitor then came back and told him there was a torso in the suitcase.

That was on May 29, 2012, five days after friends last saw Lin.

Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to five charges but will argue he is not criminally responsible because of mental disorder.

While Magnotta admits to causing the acts he’s accused of in Lin’s death, Leclair has said his client suffers from schizophrenia and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder shortly before the slaying.

The Crown contends the killing was planned and deliberate and says its case will show just that.

The five charges against Magnotta are first-degree murder; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene material.

Thursday is the last day of testimony this week. For the most part, the jury will not sit on Fridays.

MONTREAL — Luka Rocco Magnotta is schizophrenic and was not criminally responsible when he killed Chinese student Jun Lin in 2012, his lawyer told jurors on Monday.

Magnotta has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and there is a history of schizophrenia in his family, Luc Leclair said on the first day of the highly publicized first-degree murder trial.

“I intend to show to you that at the time of the events, he was not criminally responsible,” Leclair told the eight women and six men who will hear the evidence.

His comments capped a stunning morning in the courtroom that began with Magnotta, 32, entering fresh not-guilty pleas to five charges, including murder.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer then advised the jurors that Magnotta had admitted to committing the crimes and that their task over the next six to eight weeks would be to determine his state of mind at the time.

Leclair revisited the matter as he spoke to the jurors.

“Mr. Magnotta has admitted the physical acts for each of the offences,” he told them. “The other part to each charge is the mental part _ so the defence will be focusing on that.”

Leclair took the unusual step of addressing the jurors before the Crown had presented the outline of its entire case. He said he wanted to ensure the jury didn’t think it was simply “wasting its time.”

The lawyer said a large number of medical files will be presented and he hopes that Magnotta’s relatives will testify as well.

Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier told jurors he expects to show them the crimes were premeditated.

“The two words you should have in mind while listening to the evidence are ‘planned and deliberate,’” he said.

Magnotta was impassive as Bouthillier said the testimony of a journalist from England will indicate Lin’s murder had been in the works for six months.

He said the reporter and his media organization received an email in December 2011 that shows Magnotta was intending to kill a human and film the event.

“This email makes it clear that Mr. Magnotta was planning to kill a human being and that he was going to make a movie,” Bouthillier told the jurors.

He also said they will see Lin’s last moments alive, images that were captured by a surveillance video at a Montreal apartment.

Lin’s body was later found cut up: hands and feet were mailed to political offices in Ottawa and schools in Vancouver. The rest of the body was found in the trash behind the apartment.

His head was found in a Montreal park one month after his slaying.

The jury is expected to hear testimony from some 60 witnesses, including some from France and Germany who were interviewed by Canadian authorites.

Bouthillier said that in the third week of the trial, jurors will watch the so-called murder video that the defence has described as “graphic, gruesome and potentially upsetting.”

“And it is,” the veteran prosecutor added, suggesting the evidence will show Magnotta posted the video to the Internet hours after Lin’s death.

Bouthillier said the first minute of the video contains footage of another man, with that segment having been filmed one week before Lin was killed.

The first witness at the trial, which is expected to last between six and eight weeks, was Caroline Simoneau, a Montreal police crime-scene technician.

She was called to the scene after the Lin’s torso was discovered stuffed in a fly-covered suitcase in the trash behind a low-rent Montreal apartment.

She snapped more than 100 photos at the scene, going through trash bags and documenting the contents.

Lin’s father, Diran Lin, was in the courtroom on Monday along with a lawyer and translator, while Magnotta sat in the prisoner’s dock wearing a grey sweater, dark pants and dark-rimmed glasses. He appeared heavier than when he was arrested in June 2012.

The native of Scarborough, Ont., was arrested without incident at a Berlin Internet cafe on June 4, 2012, several days after Lin’s slaying.

He returned to Canada a few weeks later, escorted by several Montreal police major-crimes detectives aboard a Canadian government plane.

The process of selecting the jury took eight days, with the court vetting about 1,600 people called to serve.

The trial will take place primarily in English, although some parts are expected to be in French.

Jun Lin, 33, was born in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. He had only been living in Canada since 2011, realizing a long-standing dream by coming to Montreal.

His family said in April 2013 that Lin had a comfortable life working in IT at Microsoft’s Beijing office, but had sought a move to Canada to study and to improve his life.

At the time of his death, Lin was enrolled as a computer engineering student at Concordia University and worked as a part-time convenience store clerk in south-central Montreal.

Magnotta is also charged with committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/magnotta-pleads-not-guilty-again-as-murder-trial-begins/feed/0Murder trial of Luka Rocco Magnotta set to begin in Montrealhttp://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/murder-trial-of-luka-rocco-magnotta-set-to-begin-in-montreal/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/murder-trial-of-luka-rocco-magnotta-set-to-begin-in-montreal/#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2014 08:57:03 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www.macleans.ca/?p=616267Luka Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to five charges, including first-degree murder, in death of 33-year-old engineering student

MONTREAL – The trial in one of Canada’s most publicized and shocking criminal cases is set to begin Monday with evidence being heard in the proceedings against alleged murderer Luka Rocco Magnotta.

Magnotta, 32, has pleaded not guilty to five charges in connection with the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin in May 2012.

The charges are first-degree murder; committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

Trial judge Guy Cournoyer questioned potential jurors earlier this month about whether they could stomach evidence that could be considered gruesome, graphic and possibly upsetting.

The 14 bilingual jurors who will hear the case will receive instructions from Cournoyer before prosecutor Louis Bouthillier begins presenting the Crown’s arguments.

The investigation was launched after the discovery of a human torso stuffed in trash behind a Montreal apartment building in May 2012. Body parts then began surfacing in different parts of Canada — first at a federal political office in Ottawa and, later, at two British Columbia schools.

A video that purportedly depicted a slaying was posted online around the same time and was linked by Montreal police to the discovery of the body parts.

As the investigation progressed, Magnotta was discovered to have left the country, triggering an international police manhunt that Montreal police said was the largest in which they had taken part.

Interpol became involved and Magnotta was arrested without incident at a Berlin Internet cafe on June 4, several days after Lin’s slaying.

He returned to Canada a few weeks later, escorted by several Montreal police major-crimes detectives aboard a Canadian government plane.

Bouthillier has said up to 60 Crown witnesses could be heard at the trial, which is expected to last between six and eight weeks. Some Europeans could be called to testify.

The process of selecting the jury took eight days, with the court vetting about 1,600 people called to serve. That group was narrowed down to 16 people. Two will be dismissed when the trial begins and two of the remaining 14 will be discharged before deliberations.

The trial will take place primarily in English, although some parts are expected to be in French.

Magnotta will be represented by Toronto-based attorney Luc Leclair. The lawyer told reporters he was seeking jurors who were open-minded and intelligent and willing to listen to the case.

“He’s (Magnotta) been waiting a long time, I’ve been waiting a long time, we’ve been waiting a long time,” Leclair said on the first day of the jury selection process.

“There was a time that we never thought this day would come.”

Magnotta is a native of Scarborough, Ont., who, according to police, set up dozens of Internet user names and maintained 70 Facebook pages and 20 websites.

The trial is likely to lure plenty of curious onlookers. During the preliminary hearing, the case attracted criminology students, legal junkies and even a handful of people who appeared to support Magnotta.

Proceedings will be heard in a special courtroom equipped with numerous screens and a large metal-and-glass enclosure behind which Magnotta will sit.

But seating is limited: five spots will be set aside for media and five others for the public. A few other seats are reserved for Lin’s family, including his father Diran, who is in Canada for the trial.

The trial will otherwise be broadcast to an overflow room on a different floor.

Diran Lin has attended several days of proceedings since the case began and has said he hopes to see justice for his son.

Jun Lin, 33, was born in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. He had only been living in Canada since 2011, realizing a long-standing dream by coming to Montreal.

His family said in April 2013 that Lin had a comfortable life working in IT at Microsoft’s Beijing office, but had sought a move to Canada to study and to improve his life.

At the time of his death, Lin was enrolled as a computer engineering student at Concordia University and worked as a part-time convenience store clerk in south-central Montreal.

The 16 people selected as jurors and alternate jurors are:

1: Woman, auto parts analyst

2: Woman, assistant manager in a telecommunications firm

3: Man, works for a cleaning company

4: Man, web developer

5: Woman, stockbroker

6: Woman, public relations and translator

7: Man, university professor

8: Man, interpreter

9: Man, junior college professor

10: Woman, university employee

11: Man, retired financial analyst

12: Woman, call-centre employee

13: Woman, translator

14: Woman, works in administration at a butcher’s shop

*15: Woman, geologist

*16: Man, auditor

Jurors 15 and 16 are alternates who will only sit if any of the first 14 jurors are unable to do so. Otherwise, they’ll be discharged on Monday before the trial begins.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/murder-trial-of-luka-rocco-magnotta-set-to-begin-in-montreal/feed/0Luka Rocco Magnotta murder trial set to start Sept. 29http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/luka-rocco-magnotta-murder-trial-set-to-start-sept-29/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/luka-rocco-magnotta-murder-trial-set-to-start-sept-29/#commentsFri, 19 Sep 2014 20:12:56 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www.macleans.ca/?p=611737Magnotta's trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks and is now set to begin Sept. 29

An artist’s impression of Luka Magnotta is shown at the Montreal Courthouse. (Mike McLaughlin/CP)

MONTREAL – Jury selection is complete at Luka Rocco Magnotta’s murder trial after a second alternate juror was picked this afternoon.

The man works as an auditor at an accounting firm.

Magnotta’s trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks and is now set to begin Sept. 29.

Earlier today, a female geologist was picked as the first alternate juror. They will be required to sit on the jury only if someone from the first 14 people selected is unable to.

The six men and eight women will hear all the evidence, while only 12 of the jurors will deliberate at the end of the trial.

The 32-year-old Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to five charges, including first-degree murder, in connection with the May 2012 slaying and dismemberment of 33-year-old Jun Lin, a Chinese engineering student.

Besides the murder charge, Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

Today’s proceedings mark the first time the 32-year-old Magnotta hasn’t appeared in a high-security courtroom.

Instead, the selection is being done in a regular courtroom to make it easier for Magnotta to talk to his lawyer.

While the trial will take place mostly in English, many witnesses will testify in French.

Hundreds of potential jurors received exemptions last week, primarily because they said they were not proficient enough in both languages.

On Tuesday, others were also dismissed because their level of French or English comprehension was deemed inadequate.

Besides the murder charge, Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/first-four-jurors-selected-to-hear-magnotta-murder-trial/feed/0Jury selection in Luka Rocco Magnotta’s murder trial set to beginhttp://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/jury-selection-in-luka-rocco-magnottas-murder-trial-set-to-begin/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/jury-selection-in-luka-rocco-magnottas-murder-trial-set-to-begin/#commentsFri, 05 Sep 2014 10:09:46 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www.macleans.ca/?p=603081Magnottaaces faces five charges in connection with the slaying and dismemberment of Jun Lin in May 2012.

MONTREAL — One of Canada’s most publicized and shocking criminal cases resumes Monday when jury selection begins in the first-degree murder trial of Luka Rocco Magnotta.

Magnotta, 32, faces five charges in connection with the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin in May 2012.

He has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and the four others: committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

The case began with the discovery of a human torso stuffed in trash behind a Montreal apartment building in May 2012. Body parts then began surfacing in different parts of Canada — first at federal political offices in Ottawa and, later, at two British Columbia schools.

A video that purportedly depicted a slaying was posted online around the same time and was linked by Montreal police to the discovery of the body parts.

Magnotta is a native of Scarborough, Ont., who, according to police, set up dozens of Internet user names and maintained 70 Facebook pages and 20 websites.

As the case progressed, Magnotta was discovered to have left the country, triggering an international police manhunt that Montreal police said was the largest in which they had taken part.

Interpol became involved and Magnotta was arrested without incident at a Berlin Internet cafe on June 4, several days after Lin’s slaying.

He returned to Canada a few weeks later, escorted by several Montreal police major-crimes detectives aboard a Canadian government plane.

The proceedings have since wound their way through the courts, with the trial proper scheduled to begin Sept. 22.

The case involving Magnotta captured headlines around the world. He was named Canadian newsmaker of the year and news story of the year by editors across the country in 2012 in the annual poll of newsrooms by The Canadian Press.

During the preliminary stages of his case, court appearances generated a circus-like atmosphere at the Montreal courthouse. Even procedural hearings, which journalists rarely attend, were subject to extensive coverage by local and national media.

Magnotta’s lawyer, Luc Leclair, repeatedly tried to limit what could be written about his client while awaiting trial.

Motions were tabled to limit the scope of coverage or forbid the public and media from attending proceedings altogether. The attempts failed, however, with various judges throughout the process expressing confidence Magnotta would still get a fair trial.

Leclair has kept his public comments to a minimum since Magnotta’s arrest, but says his client returned voluntarily from Europe, choosing not to fight extradition.

“He decided to come back to Canada and to face the public in Montreal, in particular, who will be called to judge him…,” Leclair said in April 2013. “He came, personally, to face the court because he has faith in the Canadian judicial system.”

The preliminary inquiry heard from more than 30 witnesses from Montreal and elsewhere in Canada. In recent months, the court travelled to Europe to question witnesses in France and Germany.

Lin’s family have also expressed faith in the justice system and say they don’t want their son to be forgotten.

Jun Lin, 33, was born in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. He realized a long-standing dream by coming to Canada in 2011.

In interviews with the media in April 2013, his family recalled how Lin had a comfortable life working in IT at Microsoft’s Beijing office, but had sought a move to Canada to study and to improve his life.

He was enrolled as a computer engineering student at Concordia University and worked as a part-time convenience store clerk.

Lin’s parents said he was excited about his future in this country.

The family also described struggling mightily with the loss of their only son. His mother, Zhigui Du, talked of losing the will to live after Lin’s death.

Lin was laid to rest in Montreal in July 2012, in the country and city his family said he loved.

The Lin family have been present throughout the proceedings via a Montreal lawyer. Recently, Lin’s father, Diran Lin, formally asked the court to limit access to some of the exhibits considered to be obscene so they aren’t widely published during the trial.

A Montreal lawyer for Lin’s parents and sister said they don’t expect to make any further comments until after the trial.

Prosecutor Louis Bouthillier will represent the Crown while Magnotta will be defended by Leclair, an Ontario-based lawyer.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer will oversee the trial.

Jury selection is expected to run about two weeks. Fourteen bilingual jurors will be chosen to hear the evidence, while 12 of them will eventually decide Magnotta’s fate.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers welcomed the Quebec Superior Court decision, saying it upholds researchers’ rights to protect confidential information needed for their academic work.

The association’s executive director says in a statement the ruling represents the first court recognition of researcher-participant privilege.

Montreal police had sought to gain access to a copy of the interview for evidence they’re still gathering against the 31-year-old Magnotta, who is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin.

Lawyers representing University of Ottawa criminologists had argued the 2007 interview with a subject known under the pseudonym “Jimmy” should be kept confidential.

The attorneys said Magnotta participated in the study as part of a survey of sex workers under the condition his interview would remain confidential.

“The impact of this decision is that researchers can now have confidence that courts will recognize and will treat seriously promises of confidentiality vital to the conduct of their research,” James Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, said in a statement Wednesday.

“Courts have recognized the social importance of journalists being able to protect confidential sources, and this decision extends a similar recognition to academic researchers.”

The news release published by Turk’s association said that, in her ruling, Justice Sophie Bourque noted “much academic research… provides useful information on certain aspects of the human condition that are normally kept silent.”

The Bourque ruling was also quoted by the association as saying: “The evidence demonstrates that much of the research involving vulnerable people can only be conducted if human participants are given a guarantee that their identities and the information that they share will remain confidential.”

MONTREAL – Lawyers for accused killer Luka Magnotta will meet with Crown prosecutors for a pre-trial conference on Oct. 9.

Quebec Superior Court set the date Tuesday as the fall session of the court opened.

Crown spokesman Jean-Pascal Boucher says the purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the trial, which will begin Sept. 15, 2014.

Magnotta, a former porn actor and stripper, was arrested in Berlin in June 2012 following an international manhunt.

He faces five charges in connection with the May 2012 death and dismemberment of Jun Lin, a 33-year-old Chinese national studying engineering at Concordia University.

The 31-year-old Magnotta, a native of Scarborough, Ont., has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Parts of Lin’s body were mailed across Canada in a gruesome case that made international headlines. Some parts were mailed to a British Columbia school while others were directed to political offices in Ottawa.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder, committing an indignity to a body, publishing obscene material, criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament and mailing obscene and indecent material.

Researchers from the University of Ottawa are trying to prevent the Crown from getting their hands on a six-year-old interview with Luka Rocco Magnotta.

Lawyers representing the academics argued in Quebec Superior Court on Wednesday the interview with a subject known under the pseudonym “Jimmy” should be kept confidential.

The lawyers say Magnotta participated in the study as part of a survey of sex workers under the condition his interview would remain confidential. Magnotta’s lawyers, who have supported the researchers’ motion, filed an affidavit confirming that later Wednesday.

Montreal police want a copy of the interview for evidence they’re still gathering against Magnotta.

The 30-year-old is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin.

Police came to know about the interview after a research assistant, Adam McLeod, told them about it following Magnotta’s arrest last year. McLeod told authorities “Jimmy” was in fact Magnotta.

Peter Jacobsen, a lawyer representing the criminologists Dr. Colette Parent and Dr. Christine Bruckert, said he’s not sure McLeod even realized he was breaking confidentiality when he called police. He suggested McLeod may have just been caught up in the media hype surrounding the case.

The fact he didn’t think of it is problematic, Jacobsen said. Confidentiality is paramount in academia when dealing with sensitive topics.

“The promise of confidentiality must be upheld otherwise this type of research into the work of vulnerable and stigmatized groups like sex workers would not be possible,” he said.

“They didn’t even want his own handwriting on the document for fear it could be used to identify him,” Jacobsen added.

“There was a serious and strong effort made to keep the material confidential.”

Jacobsen doesn’t believe the interview would even be relevant to the criminal case.

He said a forensic psychiatrist examined the study interview and found it would be of little use in a not-criminally responsible defence.

Crown prosecutor Alexandre Boucher conceded there might not be much to the material, but he urged Justice Sophie Bourque to look at the March 2007 interview before deciding on the petitioners’ request.

The petitioners want to have the warrant quashed and the 68-page transcript and audio interview returned.

Boucher said the document should at least be looked at, since McLeod thought it was important enough for him to contact police.

TORONTO – Luka Magnotta, accused of killing and dismembering a Chinese student, was treated for paranoid schizophrenia, though his pyschiatrist said he didn’t always take his medication.

A letter from a psychiatrist who saw Magnotta, 30, is attached to the court file on a 2005 conviction for fraud and references the diagnosis of the “major psychiatric disorder.”

The letter was released today after several media outlets fought for it to be made public.

The doctor at the Rouge Valley Health System in Toronto says Magnotta suffered from paranoid schizophrenia since at least 2000 and had been hospitalized several times.

The psychiatrist writes that Magnotta, then known by his birth name Eric Newman, was on anti-psychotic medications but didn’t always take them, which the doctor said could lead to paranoia, auditory hallucinations and fear of the unknown.

A preliminary hearing for Magnotta, is underway in Montreal, where he faces several criminal charges, including first-degree murder, in the gruesome slaying and dismemberment last year of 33-year-old university student Jun Lin.

The newly released letter was attached to Magnotta’s fraud court file at his sentencing, when the judge handed him a conditional sentence for fraud. After reading the letter she warned that Magnotta would always need to take medication, and if he didn’t, she predicted his life “is going to get messed up.”

A Globe and Mail reporter tried to obtain the letter, a public document, but was rebuffed in several attempts. Media outlets then hired counsel to make arguments to a judge for the letter’s release.

Magnotta’s lawyer Luc Leclair tried to stop the letter from becoming public, but Ontario Court Judge Fergus O’Donnell ruled Wednesday afternoon that it should be released.

It does contain sensitive and personal medical information, O’Donnell said in his ruling, but any privacy interest was foregone when the letter was filed in open court.

“Without access to the letter, the public is not in a position to engage in a meaningful assessment or debate over the appropriateness of what happened to Mr. Newman in 2005 in what is supposed to be an open and transparent court process,” O’Donnell wrote.

The mother of slain Chinese student Jun Lin says that 10 months after her son’s killing she no longer has the will to live.

The 33-year-old Lin was killed and dismembered last May in Montreal in a case that made headlines around the world.

Lin’s family met with journalists Tuesday as the preliminary hearing for his accused killer — Luka Rocco Magnotta — is on a break at the city’s courthouse.

They wanted to honour Lin’s memory ahead of the Qingming festival, a traditional Chinese date for families to commemorate ancestors and the deceased.

Speaking through an interpreter, Lin’s emotional mother, Zhigui Du, said she still struggles daily with the loss of her son.

“She said that before, she was full of hope for life… (She now has) no interest to live in this world,” said the interpreter as she translated for Du, who broke down in tears a couple of times while talking about Lin.

“She wants so much to hug her son.”

Lin’s mother, father and younger sister travelled to Montreal from China to follow the court proceedings. Magnotta is facing numerous charges — including first-degree murder — in the slaying of the computer engineering student.

Diran Lin, Lin’s father, is the only one of the three who has been inside the courtroom for a first-hand look at some of the disturbing evidence that has been presented.

His attendance in court proved to be very difficult.

Overcome with emotion, a trembling and weeping Diran Lin left the courtroom in tears a few weeks ago after hearing evidence. He did not return to the courthouse for a couple of days.

Evidence presented at the preliminary inquiry is subject to a publication ban. The hearing, adjourned until Monday, will determine whether there is enough evidence to send Magnotta to trial.

The family’s lawyer said they decided to meet with reporters Tuesday to ensure Lin’s memory does not get lost amid the heightened media interest in the suspect and the gruesome details of the case.

Magnotta, 30, a porn actor and stripper, set off an international manhunt last year before his arrest at a Berlin Internet cafe.

“They don’t want their son to be a footnote in the CV of the accused,” said attorney Daniel Urbas, a Montreal commercial-litigation lawyer who is acting pro bono.

“They understand the accused is on trial, but for them it’s all about their son, the memory of their son and his legacy.”

Lin’s father recalled how his son worked in IT at Microsoft’s Beijing office before moving to Canada to study at Montreal’s Concordia University. He arrived in Montreal in July 2011.

“He found Montreal was a very nice city,” Diran Lin said through the interpreter, as the family sat at a boardroom table in Urbas’ office that was covered with about 20 photos of Lin.

“He wanted to improve himself.”

Amid the family’s collection of pictures was an identification card from when Lin worked as a volunteer during beach volleyball events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Photos showed Lin as a little boy on a tricycle and as an adult standing with Minnie Mouse at Hong Kong Disneyland.

In most of the photos, Lin has a big smile.

Urbas said Lin’s parents called their son by the nickname “pistachio,” which he indicated was meant to represent his tendency to burst with happiness and laughter.

Another photo — the last family shot taken before Lin moved to Canada — showed Lin and his mother making “V” signs with their fingers and flashing toothy grins.

On Tuesday, Du looked physically exhausted and held her head low.

“It’s very painful for her,” said the interpreter. “She hopes that her son could come back.”

Lin’s loved ones plan to honour him this week by visiting his Montreal grave on Thursday — a traditional Chinese date for families to honour the deceased.

While visiting Lin’s tomb, the family plans to burn pieces of colourful paper that resembles money.

“The idea is to give the deceased gifts in the afterlife, things that they would want as a way of making it better for them,” said Urbas.

The family, meanwhile, hope their son will get justice and they have put their faith in the Canadian court system.

“I think it seems to be fair, as I have seen many witnesses that have gone to the court,” said the father, who also indicated the family are still looking for answers in Lin’s slaying.

At their lawyer’s recommendation, the parents did not answer questions on comparisons between the Canadian and Chinese judicial systems, nor did they discuss their thoughts about Magnotta.

They did, however, talk about how their son’s death has altered how people back home perceive Canada.

“Everybody said that Lin Jun should not have come to Canada,” the interpreter said after Diran Lin replied to the question.

“Before, people around (the family) thought that Canada was a very, very safe place. But now they say that maybe there’s some places that are not as so safe.”

Lin’s mother followed up Diran Lin’s remarks with her own take on the reaction in their hometown.

“They just wonder how could this kind of person exist,” she said of her son’s killer, through the interpreter. “So cruel.”

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/lins-mother-says-shes-been-robbed-of-will-to-live/feed/1Lurid details of Magnotta case a secret to all Canadians – except these peoplehttp://www.macleans.ca/news/lurid-details-of-magnotta-case-a-secret-to-all-canadians-except-these-people/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/lurid-details-of-magnotta-case-a-secret-to-all-canadians-except-these-people/#commentsFri, 22 Mar 2013 22:50:14 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www2.macleans.ca/?p=363547MONTREAL – They make up the tiny segment of the population that has heard the disturbing evidence at the high-profile case of alleged killer Luka Rocco Magnotta.
Unlike lawyers, court…

None of the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, which has attracted international media attention, can be published because of a court-ordered ban.

So, the only way for the public to know what’s going on is to show up.

And that’s exactly what a few university students, a restless retiree and at least one admirer of the accused have decided to do.

“You can either sit at home and stew in the fact that there’s a publication ban or you can come here and sit in the courtroom,” said recently retired Lucy Adams, who tries to arrive at the courthouse two hours before the 9:30 a.m. daily start time in order to snap up a seat.

“It’s almost like watching theatre. You don’t have to do anything about what you observe. You enjoy what you see. Not that this is theatre or fiction or anything — not by a long shot.”

Magnotta, 30, faces several criminal charges, including first-degree murder, in the gruesome slaying and dismemberment last year of 33-year-old university student Jun Lin.

Testimony at the hearing has already brought Lin’s father, Darin Lin, to tears and forced him to rush out of the courtroom. Magnotta also collapsed in the prisoner’s box this week, after watching video evidence, and he has appeared to wipe a tear at times.

So far, Adams said she hasn’t found the evidence difficult to take in.

The former health-care professional, who spent most of her 40-year career in the field of psychiatry, has put the goal to attend high-profile homicide cases like Magnotta’s on her “bucket list.”

She said she has been studying the body language of Magnotta, who sits behind a wall of glass only a few metres from the front row of the gallery.

“I like entertainment combined with education — it’s a good mix,” said Adams, as she nibbled on dates while standing in the lineup, waiting for her turn to pass through a metal detector outside the courtroom.

“It’s too rarely accessible for somebody like me.”

Accessibility to the hearing was a big drawing point.

“I just want to be here because I can,” said an 18-year-old Concordia University biology student, who declined to give his name because he didn’t want people to know he was at the Magnotta hearing.

He explained that he recently moved here from a Middle Eastern country where the public does not have free access to court proceedings.

The man was in the courtroom the day Magnotta fell to the ground in the fetal position, shortly after video evidence was shown on the chamber’s numerous screens.

The teen, who didn’t understand all the testimony because he doesn’t speak French, appeared unfazed by the evidence and planned to come back another day.

“This is an exciting case,” he said.

Magnotta’s hearing also attracted at least one fan.

A 22-year-old man, who called himself Kyle, said he drove 1,400 kilometres from Raleigh, N.C., to Montreal to show his support for Magnotta and the defence team.

“I’m not against the victim’s family or anything like that,” he said, noting he thought Magnotta looked “very attractive” in person.

“I hope that people realize that as hard as this is on the victim’s family… this is also terribly hard on Luka Magnotta and his family.

“It’s probably the hardest time of his life right now.”

Kyle was proud to declare that he made eye contact with Magnotta several times in the courtroom. He also displays his obsession with Magnotta in a blog, which features flattering photos of him.

During his stay in Montreal, Kyle visited sites relevant to the case. He even posted a photo from Lin’s gravesite.

Kyle said courthouse criminologists requested a private meeting with him after they saw interviews with him in some news stories.

“They just wanted to, I guess, hear first-hand from me about my reasons for being here and just to make sure that my intentions were pure — (that) I didn’t have any ulterior motives or anything,” he said.

He said other supporters of the accused have also attended the hearing.

They are among members of the public who have lined up in hope of claiming one of about a dozen seats set aside for them in the high-security chamber, behind an airport-style checkpoint.

The lineups have shrunk as the intense media interest waned after the first few days. On a couple of days this week, one or two public chairs even remained empty in the courtroom.

Meanwhile, a 50-seat public overflow room shows the hearing on a large projector screen. It has had dozens of spectators on some days and been nearly empty on others.

The case has remained an educational opportunity for some — particularly for people studying criminology, journalism and medicine.

Medical students attended proceedings this week to observe how a forensic pathologist, toxicologist and odontologist presented their reports to the courtroom. They also watched how the experts handled themselves during questioning.

A criminology undergraduate from Universite de Montreal, meanwhile, said her professor suggested students in the class try to attend at least one day of Magnotta’s hearing.

Second-year student Claudia Simeone admitted she was a bit nervous. One of her classmates dropped in last week and told her it was difficult to hear some of the evidence.

“It’s my first time (attending a court hearing)… and this is a big case,” Simeone said a few minutes before people were ushered into the courtroom.

The preliminary hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to send Magnotta to trial. It has begun a break, starting Friday, and will resume April 8.

A Chinese father left a courtroom in tears after hearing evidence at the preliminary inquiry of Luka Magnotta, who is accused of killing and dismembering his son.

Overcome with emotion, Daran Lin left the courtroom helped by his translator and lawyer Tuesday, trembling and weeping, and he did not return.

A lawyer for the family said the grieving father of Jun Lin had been given a general idea of things he might hear at the preliminary inquiry.

But it proved to be too much for the elder Lin.

“He decided to take the afternoon off,” said Daniel Urbas, a Montreal commercial-litigation lawyer who is acting pro-bono as the family’s attorney.

“He’s gone back to be with his wife and his daughter.”

The Lin family has made the trip to Canada, at considerable cost, in order to honour their relative’s memory and follow the legal proceedings.

Daran Lin has represented the family at the hearing — his wife and their daughter have not been present. His lawyer said he might manage to return to court later in the week.

“It’s important for him to honour his son, to witness how our judicial system works,” Urbas said.

“He’s trusted our society with his son once. And he wants to see whether, and how, he can trust our society with the judicial process that’s going to lead to the resolution of the criminal charges in his son’s death.”

The preliminary hearing for Magnotta began with testimony from police witnesses.

The Ontario native showed no emotion as the case against him was presented, quietly listening to the testimony with his arms folded. An interpreter has been stationed near him to translate French-language testimony into English.

The hearing is subject to a publication ban on the evidence being presented.

However, members of the public and media are allowed to attend.

A unique attempt by the defence to have the courtroom closed was rejected Tuesday. Quebec court Judge Lori-Renee Weitzman denied a defence motion aimed at having the public and the media barred.

The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to send Magnotta to trial for the murder of Jun Lin, a Chinese engineering student. At least three weeks have been set aside for the preliminary phase.

The first witness to take the stand at the preliminary hearing Tuesday was the lead investigator in the case. Michel Bourque, a Montreal police major crimes investigator, was the primary detective in the case against Magnotta.

Later, a crime-scene technician, Caroline Simoneau, took the stand.

In addition to first-degree murder, Magnotta is charged with committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

Lin’s family thanked the media for giving them space as they attended the court hearings. Urbas said they appreciated the respect and dignity afforded them.

Urbas himself approached the family soon after the crime occurred. He said his role is simple — to provide explanations about the process and offer any assistance they need.

Urbas is a commercial lawyer by trade, but his firm often engages in pro-bono work.

“We’ve done it in the past,” Urbas said.

“We simply put ourselves in their place: What would we want for someone in their country if we were in the same situation?”

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/grieving-parent-breaks-down-at-luka-magnotta-hearing/feed/0Updated: Luka Magnotta, accused in infamous body-parts case, returns to courthttp://www.macleans.ca/news/luka-magnotta-accused-in-infamous-body-parts-case-returns-to-court/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/luka-magnotta-accused-in-infamous-body-parts-case-returns-to-court/#commentsMon, 11 Mar 2013 15:58:10 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www2.macleans.ca/?p=359159MONTREAL – A preliminary hearing for Luka Rocco Magnotta has adjourned for a day while the judge weighs whether the public and the media should be barred from attending the…

MONTREAL – A preliminary hearing for Luka Rocco Magnotta has adjourned for a day while the judge weighs whether the public and the media should be barred from attending the procedure.

The high-profile case was back in court, in a high-security room, as lawyers argued over an exceptional request to hold the hearing behind closed doors.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Chinese-born student Jun Lin last May. He has pleaded not guilty.

Lawyers for the accused, the prosecution, media organizations and Lin’s family all spoke in court today. The evidence discussed is subject to a publication ban.

Quebec court Judge Lori-Renee Weitzman is expected to issue a ruling on the matter on Tuesday morning.

Clad from head to toe in white, Magnotta sat quietly, with his arms folded in his lap. His feet and hands were shackled and he was in a glass box that was sealed off from the rest of the courtroom.

Magnotta’s lawyers were trying to have the public and media booted from the hearing, which is to determine if there is enough evidence for a trial.

While the evidence presented during the preliminary inquiry is already subject to a publication ban, his legal team argued that the only people who should be allowed to remain for the hearing were the prosecutors, the judge and a court clerk.

Authorities named Magnotta as a suspect after the severed remains of Lin, a Montreal engineering student, were mailed to the Ottawa offices of the federal Conservatives and the federal Liberals along with two Vancouver schools.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/luka-magnotta-accused-in-infamous-body-parts-case-returns-to-court/feed/2Luka Magnotta, accused in infamous body-parts case, set for preliminary inquiryhttp://www.macleans.ca/news/luka-magnotta-accused-in-infamous-body-parts-case-set-for-preliminary-inquiry/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/luka-magnotta-accused-in-infamous-body-parts-case-set-for-preliminary-inquiry/#commentsMon, 11 Mar 2013 00:42:08 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www2.macleans.ca/?p=358926MONTREAL – Luka Rocco Magnotta, the man charged in connection with the infamous body-parts case that dominated headlines for the better part of 2012, is set to begin his preliminary…

MONTREAL – Luka Rocco Magnotta, the man charged in connection with the infamous body-parts case that dominated headlines for the better part of 2012, is set to begin his preliminary inquiry on Monday.

But if Magnotta’s lawyers have their way, the only people in the Montreal courtroom to hear the sordid details will be the prosecutors, the judge and a court clerk.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese-born student Jun Lin last May.

The 30-year-old low-budget porn actor and stripper, who crafted an online personality for himself over several years, became known worldwide after an international manhunt.

Authorities began looking for him after the severed remains of Lin, a Montreal engineering student, began showing up all over Canada.

Preliminary hearings, which determine if there is enough evidence to send a case to trial, are generally covered by a publication ban on that evidence.

But Magnotta’s legal team announced at the end of last month that it would seek to have the public and media barred from attending altogether.

In a motion filed at the end of February, the request for the closed courtroom stems from an unspecified reason related to Magnotta’s personal and medical history, details of which are not disclosed in the document.

The written motion from Magnotta’s lawyers says that “the ends of justice will be best served by doing so.”

Magnotta is accused of videotaping himself stabbing and dismembering Lin.

There is tremendous intrigue surrounding the case. Magnotta has kept quiet since being arrested in Germany and returned to Canada. His lawyers have kept their comments to the courtroom. The Crown has not said much about what they believed happened last May.

It began with the discovery of a torso in a suitcase outside a Montreal apartment and body parts in Ottawa on the same day. Those grisly discoveries triggered a police investigation that would spread right across the globe.

Magnotta is also accused of mailing body parts to different places including the Ottawa offices of the Conservative Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada, two Vancouver schools. More remains were found at a Montreal park.

In addition to the first-degree murder charge, Magnotta is also charged with committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

Magnotta has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges and chosen trial by judge and jury.

One Montreal criminal attorney says that Magnotta’s legal team, led by Toronto-based lawyer Luc Leclair, will face an uphill battle in keeping the public barred.

Lawyer Steven Slimovitch, who is not connected to the case, said Magnotta’s attorneys must prove their client’s right to a fair trial is put in jeopardy by the public being allowed in the courtroom. Several media outlets will contest the attempt.

“They have a high burden of proof because the rule in Canada is open court,” Slimovitch said.

A publication ban at the preliminary inquiry stage is “almost automatic,” with evidence heard kept under wraps until either the charges are dropped or a criminal trial is complete.

The case has usually been heard in an secured courtroom at the Montreal courthouse — with lengthy lineups, limited seating and heavy security the norm. An overflow room set up elsewhere in the courthouse is also usually packed.

Lin’s family have previously said they would attend court dates this spring, but it isn’t clear whether they were back in town.

The curiosity surrounding Magnotta in part has to do with his voluminous online presence.

Magnotta legally had his name changed from Eric Clinton Kirk Newman on Aug. 12, 2006, while he still lived in Ontario where he was born and raised.

Various pages and sites, some allegedly authored by Magnotta, revealed numerous aliases he kept over the years. His online musings suggested he had a longtime fascination with identity change and escape. He had multiple social media accounts under these various aliases.

The case captured international media attention and organizations dubbed Magnotta as the “Canadian Psycho” and the “Canadian Cannibal,” among other names.

He was named Canadian newsmaker of the year and news story of the year by editors across the country in the annual poll of newsrooms by The Canadian Press.

Quebec Court judge Lori-Renee Weitzman will hear the case over the next two weeks. It could be extended if need be. An eventual trial would be heard by a different judge in Quebec Superior Court.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/luka-magnotta-accused-in-infamous-body-parts-case-set-for-preliminary-inquiry/feed/0Luka Rocco Magnotta preliminary hearing set to go March 11http://www.macleans.ca/general/luka-rocco-magnotta-preliminary-hearing-set-to-go-march-11/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/luka-rocco-magnotta-preliminary-hearing-set-to-go-march-11/#commentsThu, 10 Jan 2013 00:03:44 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www2.macleans.ca/?p=335248MONTREAL – A shackled Luka Rocco Magnotta remained impassive as he made his first court appearance since last June on a first-degree murder charge in the gruesome slaying of a…

MONTREAL – A shackled Luka Rocco Magnotta remained impassive as he made his first court appearance since last June on a first-degree murder charge in the gruesome slaying of a Montreal university student.

Magnotta kept his eyes on the ground when not looking at the Crown or the judge as lawyers set the stage Wednesday for a preliminary hearing that will begin March 11.

The hearing, which will determine whether the 30-year-old Ontario native is sent to trial, is scheduled to last at least two weeks and possibly resume in June.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin last May.

Most of the contents of Wednesday’s 35-minute hearing cannot be revealed because of a publication ban. It served mainly to deal with issues like evidence, the number of witnesses to be heard and a rough schedule of the hearing.

The proceedings took place in a high-security courtroom where Magnotta sat throughout in a large prisoner’s box. At the end, he used an intercom phone to speak briefly to his lawyer before being whisked away.

Magnotta faces other charges related to Lin’s death: committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

Quebec court Judge Lori-Renee Weitzman will preside over the preliminary hearing. Any eventual trial would be held in Quebec Superior Court.

Magnotta has previously pleaded not guilty and chosen trial by judge and jury. He is represented by Luc Leclair, an Ontario-based lawyer who has been granted leave by the Quebec bar to represent Magnotta. He is also represented by Pierre Panaccio, a Montreal defence attorney.

Neither man spoke to reporters on Wednesday.

Nearly two dozen reporters attended the hearing — a rarity for what is generally just a procedural stage.

Jean-Pascal Boucher, a spokesman for the Crown’s office, said his office is ready to proceed with the preliminary hearing.

“We are set, we are ready to proceed in March for two weeks and we set aside a few more days to ensure the preliminary inquiry will be finished as soon as possible,” Boucher said.

Magnotta became the subject of an international manhunt after parts of Lin’s body began turning up across the country.

He is accused of mailing body parts to different places including the Ottawa offices of the Conservative Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada and two Vancouver schools.

Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier will be trying the case on his own for now. His counterpart, Helene Di Salvo, was recently named a Quebec Superior Court justice.

“Mr. Bouthillier is in charge of the file, he is a senior prosecutor, he has a lot of experience so it makes no difference for us,” Boucher said.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/luka-rocco-magnotta-preliminary-hearing-set-to-go-march-11/feed/0Luka Rocco Magnotta case back in court ahead of March preliminary hearinghttp://www.macleans.ca/general/luka-rocco-magnotta-case-back-in-court-ahead-of-march-preliminary-hearing/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/luka-rocco-magnotta-case-back-in-court-ahead-of-march-preliminary-hearing/#commentsWed, 09 Jan 2013 13:03:00 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www2.macleans.ca/?p=334758MONTREAL – The court case of Luka Rocco Magnotta, who is charged in the slaying and dismemberment of a Chinese engineering student, resumes today.
Crown and defence lawyers will be…

MONTREAL – The court case of Luka Rocco Magnotta, who is charged in the slaying and dismemberment of a Chinese engineering student, resumes today.

Crown and defence lawyers will be in a Montreal courtroom this afternoon to iron out the details of Magnotta’s preliminary hearing, which is scheduled to begin March 11.

Magnotta faces several charges, including first-degree murder in the slaying of Concordia University student Jun Lin last May.

The other charges are: committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

The 30-year-old Ontario native has pleaded not guilty and has chosen trial by judge and jury.

Magnotta surprised many by appearing in person in a courtroom last June but it’s not clear if he’ll be present today.

His previous appearances have created a circus-like atmosphere at the Montreal courthouse.

Magnotta became the subject of an international manhunt after parts of Lin’s body began turning up across the country.

He is accused of mailing body parts to different places including the Ottawa offices of the Conservative Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada and two Vancouver schools.

The selection of Luka Rocco Magnotta as Canada’s 2012 Newsmaker of the Year lit up the country’s social media and news web sites on Sunday with a cyclone of outrage and condemnation.

The alleged killer, who now sits in a Montreal detention centre as his case goes through the legal process, was the subject of a global manhunt last spring after a Chinese engineering student was killed, his body cut up and remains mailed to four different locations in Ottawa and British Columbia.

The event, including Magnotta’s capture last June at a Berlin internet cafe, was splashed across newspaper front pages and Web sites all over the world.

Magnotta was chosen in the annual poll of the country’s newsrooms by The Canadian Press.

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae was among the first to express his anger and disappointment on Sunday, tweeting to 33,361 followers that the “Canadian Press reaches a new low with its naming Magnotta as ‘newsmaker of the year.’ Truly disgusting.”

After being challenged about the news value in a response by one his followers, Rae went on to say The Canadian Press had resorted to “cheap sensationalism” and that “lots of people had more impact and made more news.”

Toronto Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett tweeted the choice was “awful,” while Conservative MP Jay Aspin, who represents the northern Ontario riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming, called on the news agency to retract the selection.

“I appeal to decency & better judgement of the Canadian Press and ask them to rescind their choice of Luka Magnotta as Newsmaker of the year,” Aspin tweeted.

Heritage Minister James Moore was more restrained, suggesting The Canadian Press find a different way to pick its Newsmaker.

“Newsmaker of the year” ought not simply be the person with the most Google news hits due to morbid curiosity. Revisit the criteria #2cents,” Moore tweeted Sunday.

Magnotta was the choice of 22 per cent of the editors and news directors who cast ballots sent to them by The Canadian Press. The second place choice with 18 per cent of the votes was Amanda Todd, the B.C. teen whose suicide sparked a debate on bullying. NHL president Gary Bettman and players’ union head Donald Fehr was third choice with 15 per cent of the votes.

The news agency’s editor-in-chief noted that over the past few decades the poll has recognized other offensive newsmakers and events.

“The Newsmaker of the Year survey has been conducted by The Canadian Press since 1946 and over the decades, the country’s newspaper editors and broadcasters have at times made some controversial selections,” said Scott White, who pointed out that Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson, who was disqualified after a doping scandal, was voted Newsmaker in 1988 and convicted murderer Russell Williams was selected Newsmaker in 2010.

“The Newsmaker isn’t an honour or a popularity contest. It’s a determination by the journalists in Canada — the people who make up the front pages and put together the daily newscasts — about what Canadian made the biggest impact on the news that year. The stories we all cover are sometimes unpleasant and ugly. This choice reflects that reality,” said White.

Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. A preliminary hearing for his case is scheduled for March to determine if there is enough evidence for a trial on the allegations against him.

The Canadian Press received a flood of emails throughout the day on Sunday expressing outrage with the choice and social media was abuzz with the story.

“The media sensationalizing these stories is part of the problem,” tweeted Luc Bouillon, a realtor from Montreal.

Still, others said Magnotta’s alleged victim, Jun Lin, was being demeaned by the choice and Aspin was not the only one calling for the selection of Magnotta to be rescinded. An online petition was circulated Sunday demanding The Canadian Press take back the choice.

“In our society, impartial and timely news reporting is important, but national recognition to someone who incomprehensibly dismembers a living person, posts it on YouTube, and cowardly flees the country, sends the message to Magnotta and villains to follow, “If you perform such a heinous act, you might just become, “Man of the Year,”” wrote organizer Andrew Schiestel on Sunday.

“As this decision was one of subjectivity, not impartiality, voted by editors across Canada, a different, more productive figure could have been nominated. This decision, not only distasteful to the vast majority of Canadians, is disgraceful and deeply inconsiderate to Lin Jun’s (the victim’s) family.”

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/canadian-press-criticized-for-newsmaker-of-the-year/feed/9Flying Magnotta on a private jet? It might have saved us over $200,000http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/flying-magnotta-on-a-private-jet-it-might-have-saved-us-over-200000/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/flying-magnotta-on-a-private-jet-it-might-have-saved-us-over-200000/#commentsMon, 17 Sep 2012 20:57:56 +0000macleans.cahttp://www2.macleans.ca/?p=294548Back-of-the-envelope accounting about the costs of repatriating the Canadian fugitive

The next time Canadian authorities have to extradite a high-profile fugitive from a distant country, I suggest they do a little comparison shopping first.

I’m referring, of course, to the $375,000 (and counting) tab for getting accused cannibal killer/dismemberment murderer Luka Rocco Magnotta back to Canada from Germany in June.

Part of the bill was for hotel accommodation and “catering” in Montreal and Berlin for the eight Canadian public employees (two military flight crew members and six Montreal police officers) who flew to Germany and returned with a ninth Canadian, the aforementioned Magnotta. Those expenses are not wildly unreasonable, although the $2,000 bill for “catering” in Berlin works out to $250 per Canadian public employee—a little steep for dinner and breakfast when you consider they were in Berlin for 12 hours. Maybe box lunches for the return flight were thrown in by the caterers as well. Who knows.

The hospitality expenses are mere chicken feed, however, compared to the $370,570 transportation bill taxpayers are apparently being dinged with for the expedition.

A look at the hourly price tag:

According to federal documents obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, that $370,570 total is based on an estimated operating hourly rate of $15,505 assessed by the Royal Canadian Air Force for 23.9 hours of flight time logged by the Airbus CC-150 Polaris aircraft employed in the venture.

Now, that seems awfully high to me for a round trip across the Atlantic. I’ll be making the same journey in less than a week for somewhere closer to $400 return (when you knock off taxes). It just doesn’t make sense that it would cost almost 1,000 times as much to fly Luka Magnotta across the same body of water.

At the time arrangements were being made to extradite Magnotta, the Globe and Mailquoted a Montreal police spokeswoman saying, “We made checks and there was no interest from commercial airlines.”

Apparently the necessity to clear out “a complete section” of a commercial airliner to accommodate the accused killer and his guards was just too much to contemplate. (Not naming any particular Canadian airline, but I’ve been on trans-Atlantic flights where the entire business-class compartment could be freed up by moving two or three people up to first class.)

But even if a regular commercial flight was out, why the gargantuan leap to a military Airbus at the cost of $15,505 an hour?

According to the documents CP unearthed, the request for military help came from Public Safety Canada, the federal government’s catchall law enforcement department headed by Minister Vic Toews.

Did Public Safety ever consider renting private aircraft instead?

Just to put my fevered mind at rest, I checked how much that would have cost for the same flight earlier today.

There are plenty of private jet charters out there, but the one I used was PrivateFly, a British company that acts as a clearinghouse for 7,000 charter aircraft worldwide and says it can arrange “the best available private aircraft at the most competitive, transparent market price” within 90 minutes.

Looking through the list of long-range jets offered by PrivateFly, I settled on a Gulfstream 350, which, the website states, “has the ability to carry 8 passengers, travel 3800 nautical miles at Mach 0.8 and cruise at 45,000 feet. It can handle domestic jaunts and transcontinental flights with equal ease.”

The Gulfstream 350 was actually built to accommodate 13 passengers, but PrivateFly’s version obviously gives you a little more legroom — an important feature if you’re wearing manacles and legirons, I would think.

Montreal to Berlin is within the Gulfstream 350′s range on a tank of gas and its 410-knot speed (that’s about 758 km an hour) would make it an eight-hour flight, give or take an hour (depending on weather and headwinds).

And the price?

According to Private Fly, the average cost is $7,030 per flying hour.

That’s a big step back from $15,505 an hour.

I’m sure there are add-ons and other costs to factor in, but nothing that would come close to doubling the cost of the charter.

Flying hours:

Another puzzling question are the flying hours that are being billed to Canadian taxpayers on account of the military Airbus.

Even if you want to make the flight time between Berlin and Montreal 10 hours each way just to be on the safe side, you’re talking a $140,000 bill—not a $370,000 bill. (Just imagine the police overtime that could be paid with that extra $230,000!)

The 23.9 hours of flying time billed by the RCAF for its Airbus included flight time from Cold Lake, Alberta, to Montreal before the trans-Atlantic hop and from Montreal to Trenton, Ontario, after the delivery, according to the documents obtained by CP.

Now, the RCAF’s five converted Airbus transports—including the VIP version used to extradite Magnotta—are operated by 437 Squadron based at CFB Trenton. So I’m not really sure why the Department of National Defence would get to charge for the Cold Lake-Montreal leg of the journey when the aircraft’s home base is within spitting distance of Montreal (in aviation terms).

Picking up the bill:

And who exactly will pay for all this? It will be interesting to see.

The parties involved seem to be Service de police de la Ville de Montreal (which headed the murder investigation and sent six members of its force to Berlin to get Magnotta), Surete de Quebec (because they were involved in the overall Magnotta investigation and fugitive hunt), the RCMP (because Magnotta is charged with mailing body parts and criminally harassing Stephen Harper and other Members of Parliament), Public Safety Canada, the Department of National Defence and the Attorney General of Canada (because he is responsible for international extraditions, according to the Extradition Act of 1999).

My suspicion is that, after a certain amount of horse trading, Harper will tell the various federal departments involved to each pick up a share of the transportation tab, while the Montreal police will foot the bill for the six officers’ overtime and victualing in Berlin.

If there’s one bright spot in all this—apart from the important fact that Luka Magnotta is back in a Canadian jail cell and preparing for trial in a few months—it’s that the Canadian military is apparently learning how to pay for itself.

It’s too much to think the forces will actually become a profit centre, but profit margin now seems to be as relevant as mission when it comes to strategic planning.

Can the day of the $748 pliers (U.S. Air Force) and the $640 toilet seat (U.S. Navy) be far away for the RCAF and Royal Canadian Navy?

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/flying-magnotta-on-a-private-jet-it-might-have-saved-us-over-200000/feed/13Cost of extraditing Magnotta on military plane: $375,000http://www.macleans.ca/general/cost-of-extraditing-magnotta-on-military-plane-375000/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/cost-of-extraditing-magnotta-on-military-plane-375000/#commentsSun, 16 Sep 2012 18:59:18 +0000The Canadian Presshttp://www2.macleans.ca/?p=294223MONTREAL – The cost to Canadian taxpayers for Luka Rocco Magnotta’s extradition from Germany, aboard a government plane fit for the prime minister, is expected to be about $375,000.
The…

MONTREAL – The cost to Canadian taxpayers for Luka Rocco Magnotta’s extradition from Germany, aboard a government plane fit for the prime minister, is expected to be about $375,000.

The estimated price tag for the accused killer’s unusual journey home includes flight expenses, catering service and a hotel stay for authorities who fetched the fugitive from across the Atlantic, according to federal documents obtained by The Canadian Press.

Berlin police arrested Magnotta in early June to end an international manhunt following the killing and dismemberment of Chinese national Jun Lin.

Magnotta is facing several charges in connection with the gruesome slaying, including first-degree murder. The 30-year-old porn actor and stripper has pleaded not guilty to all counts. The chilling details of the crimes he’s accused of caught media attention around the world.

The circumstances of his exceptional return to Canadian soil also raised eyebrows.

Magnotta flew home aboard one of the military’s CC-150 Polaris Airbus transport planes, an aircraft that can be configured to accommodate prominent passengers such as the prime minister, foreign dignitaries, the Governor General and members of the Royal Family.

The flights, from an Alberta military base to Germany and back to Canada, spanned 23.9 hours at an estimated rate of $15,505 per hour — for a total cost of $370,570.

The rate is an estimate that includes maintenance, hangar fees, crew salaries and fuel, which makes up $6,420 of the hourly cost, according to the Department of National Defence.

The hotel cost for eight crew members to stay overnight in Berlin was expected to come to nearly $1,300, while the catering total was approximately $3,500 — $1,500 in Montreal and $2,000 in the German capital.

The figures were included in a package of documents obtained under the Access to Information Act.

A spokeswoman for the Department of National Defence said the final bill for the mission should be confirmed by financial staff in the coming weeks.

“They have a partial actual cost — they’re almost there, but they didn’t want to put the cart before the horse,” Morgan Bailey said.

The tally does not include costs assumed by other Canadian police forces involved in Magnotta’s extradition.

The documents say Public Safety Canada asked the Department of National Defence for help in bringing “a person of interest” from Berlin to Montreal.

The plane’s journey to fetch Magnotta began as it lifted off from a military case in Cold Lake, Alta. It headed for Montreal, where it picked up police officers, before travelling overseas to Berlin.

The ride home saw the Airbus fly from Berlin to Magnotta’s drop-off point at Mirabel airport, north of Montreal. The aircraft later continued on to a military base in Trenton, Ont.

At the time, a police official told media that commercial airlines had declined requests to transport Magnotta across the Atlantic.

Montreal police were thankful the federal government made the plane available for the extradition.

“How can we bring him back to Montreal on a commercial flight with other people sitting on board?” Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere said in Mirabel, shortly after Magnotta emerged from the plane.

“For very extraordinary cases, we do have to take some extraordinary measures.”

Lafreniere also said a direct flight was necessary because, in the case of an international layover, Magnotta could have tried to claim asylum in any country he might have landed in on his way back to Canada.

The Montreal police department has declined, however, to share how much it spent on the mission to Germany.

In a response to an access-to-information request, the force cited concerns that sharing such figures could expose investigation methods and have an impact on court proceedings.

A Montreal police spokeswoman interviewed recently said the service would not comment on details of Magnotta’s extradition flight, which Lafreniere has indicated included six city officers.

Quebec provincial police, which were involved in the mission, also declined to reveal the costs associated with Magnotta’s return to Canada.

In its response to a demand made under the Access to Information Act, the provincial police force referred the request to Montreal police, which it indicated was leading the file.

Police allege Magnotta fled Montreal for Europe in late May, shortly before Lin’s torso was discovered inside a suitcase in an alley behind the suspect’s west-end apartment building.

The body of his supposed victim was found in multiple pieces. The 33-year-old Concordia University student’s hands and feet were mailed separately to the offices of political parties in Ottawa and schools in Vancouver.

Magnotta, who is originally from Scarborough, Ont., was arrested without incident at a Berlin Internet cafe on June 4 after he was spotted reading online news articles about himself by an employee.

Two weeks later, he was aboard Flight CFC 3812 bound for Mirabel.

Magnotta was met by a motorcade of police vehicles with flashing lights at Mirabel airport. A half-dozen men escorted him down the aircraft’s stairs onto the tarmac, and into an unmarked minivan at the centre of the convoy.

Armed officers, at least one of whom carried an assault weapon, monitored a handcuffed Magnotta during the transfer after he emerged from the grey airplane emblazoned with the Canadian government’s logo.

Nearly two months after Jun Lin’s dismembered body was found in Montreal, a public funeral will be held for him on Thursday in a Montreal funeral home according to the National Post.

A public memorial was held last weekend when his mother spoke about how his death had devastated the family. “We still believe that most people here are very kind, but this heinous crime happened in Canada. It’s made me reconsider what kind of place this is,” Zhigui Du told CBC.

The funeral was announced by Concordia University, where Lin was studying computer science.

Concordia said last on Friday that $70,000 has been raised in Lin’s honour. His family is now setting up an award in his memory.

Deep in the bowels of the RCMP’s Ottawa headquarters, thousands of Mounties are scanning the Internet for signs of wrongdoing. They read every blog post and comment written by Canadians, hunting for clues. They watch every YouTube video we upload, scrutinizing the shaky footage for incriminating evidence. Eventually, something pops: a kidnapped child in the blurry background of an Instagram picture! An anonymous post on Tumblr containing information known only to a wanted felon! The Mounties pull the I.P. address of each suspicious uploader and immediately contact the Internet service provider associated with it. All they need now is the given name of the subscriber assigned to that unique I.P., and they can swoop in for a quick arrest. But the Internet service provider can’t be bothered. “Do you have a warrant?” they ask. Thwarted by indifferent corporations and pre-digital legislation, our cyber-Mounties twiddle their thumbs, waiting for judges to sign off on court orders while criminals escape into the ether…

Bill C-30 wouldn’t have made an iota of difference in preventing Luka Magnotta’s alleged crimes or in bringing him to justice sooner. Yes, Magnotta posted tons of suspicious, possibly criminal content to the Internet well before the murder of Jun Lin. But did the lack of a law like Bill C-30 prevent police from connecting this content to Magnotta? Hardly. If police want to know the name behind an Internet pseudonym, they can just ask an ISP, and the name will be handed over to them 95 per cent of the time, without a warrant, according to RCMP data. Besides, Magnotta’s name was no secret–he publicized it, along with other aliases, compulsively. The sad fact is that until Magnotta (allegedly) killed a guy, he was of no particular interest to police, regardless of what he put on the Internet. And I don’t necessarily fault the authorities for that.

As I’ve written before, there are tons of weirdos making crazy threats online, and no conceivable police force has the resources to investigate them all. Perhaps when Magnotta uploaded videos in which he appeared to be killing kittens, he should have been flagged for an investigation, but that assumes that our police are somehow able to keep an eye on all this stuff in the first place. They can’t. A whopping 72 hours of footage is uploaded to Youtube every minute.

To believe that C-30 could have saved Jun Lin is to believe that police have the magical ability to pluck drops of criminal content from the oceans of data we create every day. No police force has a limitless supply of critical eyeballs to do this. But you know who does? The Internet.

“With enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.” Those famous words were spoken by Linux creator Linus Torvlads. He was talking about creating computer software, but what if we were to apply a method like crowdsourcing to a problem like crime? With enough eyeballs watching the Internet, crimes might also prove shallow. An online vigilante group was indeed tracking Magnotta for months, and tried to convince police to take up the case. But no-one was sure what jurisdiction was responsible for Magnotta’s alleged animal cruelty, and the case was ignored.

If Vic Toews legitimately wants to know how Jun Lin’s murder might have been averted, and how police can modernize for a digital world, he should stop trying to curtail our privacy rights and look at the evidence before him.

Luka Rocco Magnotta hardly blinked as he entered a Montreal courtroom this afternoon. His arms and ankles bound in cuffs, his white patterned shirt tucked severely into blue jeans, he shuffled into a glassed-in prisoners box and stared blankly through the window as judge Jean-Pierre Boyer entered the courtroom. If there was an antithesis of Magnotta’s carefully constructed online persona—the globetrotting model, the reality TV star, the self-assured hustler—this was it: a sallow, meek-looking man whose face was pockmarked with acne and his shoelaces removed lest he try to kill himself.

It was the second court appearance for the accused murderer and mutilator of university student Jun Lin, and the first in which he appeared in the flesh. Having pled not guilty to five charges, including first-degree murder and the desecration of a corpse, on Tuesday, the man so addicted to his own infamy found out in short order that he would be out of the public eye until 2013—when the pre-trial machinations will begin. Yet to hear his lawyer say it, Magnotta is hardly the picture of cocky confidence these days. “I have some concerns about the institution that Mr. Magnotta is staying at,” said Luc Leclair, who wasn’t present during Magnotta’s Tuesday appearance. “I have attended, I have spoken to the superintendent. They are doing what they have to do, and they are doing correctly, but I want to express my concern for his physical wellbeing and his mental wellbeing.”

Leclair, a short, wiry fellow who bares a resemblance to comedian Ron James, went on to tell the judge that Magnotta needed to be given his medication. The lawyer got up, approached the glass to confirm the dosage with Magnotta, then named the drugs. The following moments were fitting for a man who lived and thrived in a flicker-quick online world: by the time prosecutor Louis Bouthillier stood to ask for a publication ban on Magnotta’s medication type and dosage, several journalists had already committed the information to the Twittersphere.

Though he expressed concern for his client’s compromised mental state—and Magnotta’s medication certainly suggests a host of mental issues—Leclair didn’t ask for a psychiatric evaluation, as was expected. Rather, the Toronto-based lawyer thanked the prosecution for its help bringing him up to speed on the case. The session over, Magnotta was led out of the prisoners’ box, only to be made to shuffle back into court minutes later, along with the judge and lawyers, when Leclair discovered he hadn’t addressed the issue of Magnotta’s bail. According to a La Presse report, Lin’s parents were present at the hearing, though they were not in the courtroom.

In a brief statement to the press following the hearing, Leclair thanked Magnotta’s psychiatrist and court-appointed lawyer in Berlin—”They took care of him in an exemplary fashion”—and suggested Magnotta was the picture of co-operation in the days following his arrest in Berlin. “Mr. Magnotta waived his extradition rights because he wanted to come back to Montreal. He trusts the Canadian judicial system.”